


How Dare You?

by Reaganrose1513



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Cousins, Cultural Differences, Dragons, Falling In Love, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I got this idea from Tumblr, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Me wanting everyone to just be a kid for five minutes, Multi, Negotiations, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Rating May Change, Scars, Ursa (Avatar) is and Okay parent, but not really, i'll give her that, lots of dragons because I said, she's trying, the fire nation ships zuko off to be married, the swt is NOT happy about that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27001300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reaganrose1513/pseuds/Reaganrose1513
Summary: They sent a child. They wanted him to marry a child the same age as his own kids. What in the name of Tui and La- How dare the? How dare they!?ORThe 100-year war is more of a 95-year war, end earlier for reasons that don't matter right now. After a few years of negotiations, Firelord Azulon wants a marriage alliance between the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and a member of the Fire Nation royal family. No one really wants this, but after five years, Hakoda can tell his people are tired and want to move on, so he's willing to do what it takes to make peace happen. That is until the Fire Nation sends him achildto marry, and there is no way in hell that is happening.Based on a Tumblr post I can't get out of my head.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Druk & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Katara (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Hama & Katara, Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Lu Ten & Zuko, Ozai & Ursa (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Yue & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 224
Kudos: 1627
Collections: A:tla





	1. Somebody's Getting Married

**Author's Note:**

> What is up!? Lovely readers! How are you doing? Well, you read the summary; this was based on a Tumblr post that I'll link below. Get ready for angst, fluff, friendship, and love because it's coming. Side note I'm dyslexic, so spelling and grammar may be a bit wanky, but I try. If you like this story, let me know in the comments. With that, enjoy guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!

Hakoda's reread the scroll over a few more times. On his first read of it a few days ago, everything seemed almost too good to be true, and when he reached the end of the message that had the catch. For the past three days, Hakoda had been thinking about the Firelord's message. He weighed the pros and cons of it all. The pros list was very long with many great things for the tribe, but the one massive con was kind of hard to forget about. In the end, Hakoda knew what had to be done. He knew that this is what was needed but still...

Thankfully or not, that was the moment Bato walked through the office door. The other man didn't need to look at him long before asking, "What's wrong?"

Hakoda sighed and said, "I got a message from Firelord Azulon. He's willing to agree to our terms and sigh all the treaties."

"That's great, why haven't you told the council that-"

"Under one condition," Hakoda said, leaning back in his chair. 

"What condition?" Bato asked with an eyebrow raised. Hakoda picked the scroll back up and handed it to the taller man to read it in silence.

“An arrange marriage?”

“Yep,” Hakoda said, taking the scroll back from Bato, setting it with the other messages and treaties from the Fire Nation negotiators.

“We don’t do that here, though,” Bato said, “That’s a Northern Tribe thing.”

“I know that,” Hakoda sighed, “However it seems Firelord Azulon didn’t get that information, so now it’s an arranged marriage to some Fire Nation Nobel or, you know, risk having to go through another five years of negotiations.”

“Okay, but who from our tribe would be the second party in that engagement?”

Hakoda looked at him and said, “You know who.”

Bato to looked at him for a moment before retaliation fashed across his face, “Koda, no. No, that is not fair in any way.”

“Life isn’t fair,” Hakoda replied a bit snappy, “Besides, I won’t force some else to do it, and they clearly state it would have to be me.”

“So what?” Bato asked, “You just going to do it? Just like that? Koda, at least think about this.”

“I have!” he yelled, standing up from his desk, “It’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about for the past three days. Bato, you know better than anyone that the past five years have been exhausting. I am tired, but more importantly, our people are tired. If I do this, then the Fire Nation agrees to our terms, and we can start to trade and be left alone. We can start to really rebuild and recover. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“It is,” Bato said, “But I don’t want you in a loveless marriage to a stranger to get that.”

“But this is the only way,” Hakoda said, trying so hard not to yell again, “We’ve tried everything else. There’s nothing left for us to do.”

The two men then looked at each other before Bato turned away and repeated, “It’s not fair to you.”

“It’s not about me,” Hakoda sighed, “It’s about our people, and it’s my job to do everything I can for them, and I will.”

“And Sokka and Katara? What about them?” Bato asked, looking back at him, crossing his arms over his chest, “How do you think they’ll react to having a step-parent from the Fire Nation, after everything? How will they feel seeing their father be forced to marry someone he doesn’t love?”

It was an honest question, Hakoda knew, but it felt like such a low blow, bringing his children into this. His children’s thoughts and feelings on the matter were one of the largest things keeping him from saying yes. After their mother’s murder, it almost seemed cruel to make them deal with a step-parent form the country that caused them so much pain. Then there was also Kanna and her thoughts on the matter.

“I know that they won’t be happy, and probably even hurt by it,” Hakoda said, “But I also know if I do it, then Katara can keep training in waterbending without fear of her masters or herself being taken. We can keep working with the Northern Water Tribe and build schools and workshops, so Sokka can keep learning and creating all the crazy ideas he has. They can both be given a chance to be kids again. They can let go of the fear of war starting back up. Bato, if I can give them that. If I can let the last bit of their childhood be somewhat normal…”

They were quiet after that, just standing in the silence of the office, knowing that no matter what happened, someone was going to get hurt. When Hakoda looked back up at Bato, he could tell what the other man was thinking. The ‘ _what about us?_ ’ question went unsaid, but it was painfully clear. After everything the two of them had been through together, after what they had built together, Hakoda didn’t want just to set that all aside. He wanted to build their relationship even more; he wanted Bato by his side to help lead their people, and raise his children, and grow old with. But life and the spirits were cruel and disappointing if anything.

After a few more minutes, Hakoda looked down at his desk and said, “No matter what, I’m always going to love you. I will always love you, even if I can’t be with you. You’re the person who has my heart, and you know that.”

Bato sighed, looking up, “You can’t just say things like that. You can’t just turn sappy when I’m trying to talk you out of something.”

There was yet another pause before Bato said, “Do you really think it’s what’s best?”

“I do,” Hakoda said, nodding, “I think this is what best for our people.”

With another sigh, Bato nodded and said, “Alright, then as your second in command and friend, I’ll support you, even if I disagree.”

A small chuckled escaped from Hakoda as he looked up at the other man and said, “Thank you.”

XXX

Telling Sokka and Katara was one of the hardest things Hakoda had done in a very long time. He had sat them down after dinner, starting by saying that he loved them, and everything he did was because he loved them so much and wanted them to have everything he couldn’t. That nothing he did was to hurt them in any way.

“Dad, you’re scaring me,” Katara said, “What’s wrong?”

“Yeah, you’re making me worried,” Sokka said, giving him a concerned look, the same one his mother used to use on Hakoda all the time back when she was here with them.

Hakoda made the mistake of saying that he was getting married because that prompted Sokka to say, “Wait, you and Bato are just getting married? Dad, that’s a good thing. What the heck made you set that up as if it's something terrible?”

“Yeah, Dad,” Katara began, “We want you and Bato to be happy. It’s happening a little sooner than I thought it be, but if you’re getting married, then Sokka and I support you 100%-”

“I’m not marrying Bato,” Hakoda said, cutting her off. Both children looked at him and blinked, puzzled.

“Wait; what?” Sokka asked.

“I don’t understand,” Katara said, “If you’re not marrying Bato, then who on earth could you be-?”

“The Fire Nation has made a proposal that will settle all of our negotiation with them _if_ I agree to marry someone of the royal family.”

There was an uncomfortable, suffocating silence that hung in the air before Katara said, “We'd have a step-parent?"

Hakoda nodded.

"You’d be marrying a stranger?”

“From the Fire Nation royal family?” Sokka finished.

“Yes,” Hakoda said. The house fell quiet again, and you could hear the wind from outside blowing. Both Katara and Sokka’s faces were blank and near impossible for Hakoda to read. He began telling them that he knew it wasn’t ideal, but it was for the good of the tribe and that they had every right to be upset. That’s why he was telling them now before anything was set in stone because if they genuinely weren’t alright with it, he’d try to find some other way or someone else to do though he wasn’t sure who. For their sakes, he’d try anything to see that they were-

“Dad,” Sokka said after a minute of Hakoda’s rabblings, “I’m not, I’m not happy with the idea, but,” he paused, “But if for the good of the tribe...you have my blessing. I guess.”

Before he could say anything thing, Katara said, “I’m not okay that this is the only thing left. I'm mad that it what they're making you do. But if there’s nothing else, then, you have my blessing too.”

Hakoda looked at his son and daughter, and a feeling he couldn’t quite describe came over him. Maybe it was pride, pride over the fact that his kids were willing to allow Hakoda to do this for their people, for their survival. That they were trying to make this already challenging process a bit easier on him, regardless of their apparent misgivings. Pride at how selfless they were at this moment.

“You two are the greatest children the spirits could have ever blessed me with,” was all Hakoda said before pulling them both into a tight embrace. 

There wasn’t any talk about that matter afterward with the three of them, but what was there for them to say to each other about the subject? It'd only make things harder on them all. Besides they'd still be a family. Even if that family was getting a member that clearly didn't belong.

XXX

“It’s not like whoever they send will be our mom,” was the first thing Sokka said when he walked into Katara’s room that night.

“Of course not,” she said, “No one could ever be Mom.”

“And not even that,” Sokka said, sitting down on her bed, “Whoever Dad marries, they won’t be our parent. They’re not going to know anything about us. Probably won’t ever care him or our culture or anything.”

“I bet they’ll send one of those snobby nobels too,” Katara said, finally freeing her hair of its braids, pick up her comb to angrily do her hair before bed, “The ones that think were all savages who, I don’t know, kill puppies or something like that.”

The two siblings stirred in their anger for a bit longer, going back and forth before Sokka said, “You know we at least should try to make things easier on Dad.”

“I know, that’s what I was thinking too,” Katara sighed, not even want to know how hard this whole thing was on their father, “Try and do the same for Gran-Gran and Bato too.”

"Spirits," Sokka muttered, "I almost forgot about them. Can you imagine what it's like for them? Watching Dad have to marry so Fire Nation random?"

"That's just what I'm saying," Katara went on, "It sucks for us, but think about how much it sucks for them. Dad and Bato have something so nice, and now Gran-Gran has to have an in-law from the royal family? It's messed up."

“But, you know what we don’t have to do?” Sokka asked.

Katara stopped brushing her hair and looked at her brother, “What?”

“No one’s said we have to go easy on whoever’s come. Some may argue we don’t even need to be nice. And maybe, if were if we’re not so nice, then whoever comes may not want to deal with us, and maybe asked to get out of the marriage and still let us keep our agreements.”

“There’s no way that could work, could it?” Katara asked.

“Don’t know unless we try,” Sokka shrugged.

“What would we even do?”

“We got a couple of months to come up with something,” Sokka said, “I sure will get plenty of ideas. And even if we can't stop the wedding, we can at least make it clear about how we feel.”

The two siblings looked at each other, and a wicked smirk grew on both their faces as they began to think of all sorts of chaos they could cause for their new step-parent.

XXX

A marriage contract was drafted and sent to the Fire Nation. The Council of Elder who agreed with Hakoda on the many benefit their tribe would gain seemed less than delighted at the idea of him marrying an outside from the same bloodline that stated the war the nearly ripped the world apart, but still agreed to sign all the documents needed. They got a reply two weeks later, with the contract signed and the information that announcement was already made in the Fire Nation, and in two months, whoever Hakoda was to marry would arrive. Yay.

“So, this is happening then?” Hakoda said, looking away from the letter and at Bato.

“It is,” he replied.

The chief sighed, tossed the piece of paper somewhere on his desk, and walked over to the window. With the help of their sister tribe, they had built strong buildings and towns all over the South. Hakoda told himself that this marriage would help them keep growing. To allow them to be seen as equal to the rest of the world. That's what this was for. It wasn't about him, it was about his tribe, the next generation, the ability to live. That what it was all for/

“You made the right choice, Koda,” Bato said, standing next to him.

“I know that,” he said, “So what doesn’t feel right?”

Bato didn’t say anything, and a part of Hakoda didn’t want him to. They just stood there, looking out the window, knowing that in a few months, their world would have to change. Bato would have to move out, find a place of his own again. They’d most likely see each less, not wanting rumors going around. Hakoda would be married, also unable to be with the one he wanted.

“You think whoever’s coming is dreading this as much as I am?” Hakoda aksed.

“Who knows?” Bato said, sounding less hopeful than him, “If they are, what good is it going to do anyone?”

“No idea,” he said, “Guess it just another unhappy factor of this whole ordeal.”

XXX

The weeks came and went. There wasn’t too much preparation that needed to be done before the Fire Nation royal party arrived. A couple of people had found it strange that in all the messages back and forth between Firelord, very little had been mention about who Hadkoda was marrying. For La’s sakes, they had yet to tell him the gender of the person he was marrying. Not that it mattered so much, but it was a bit concerning that had yet to be disclosed. Another thing having people set their expectations low.

Honestly, as the time drew closer, Hakoda tried to busy himself with other things, whether it be work or his family. Sokka and Katara hadn’t said anything about the upcoming arrival of Hakoda’s future spouse. Still, he could tell by the way they were acting that they weren’t looking forward to having to be around the Fire Nation royal. Kanna wasn't showing much interest in the matter either, but thankful his mother never spoke on the matter.

Almost too soon, the night before the royal party arrived came. Everyone tried to act as if all was normal and well. Dinner was just him, the kids, and Bato. They tried to carry on their regular conversations. Things like how Katara was doing with her waterbending training or what Sokka had found at the archives in town.

When everyone went to bed, Hakoda should not have asked Bato to stay. He shouldn’t have done it. He was meeting his fiancee tomorrow. He shouldn’t be asking another man to stay with him. But it was one last night. Surely it wasn't too selfish to spend one last night with the person he truly loved.

“Is it too late to run away?” Hakoda muttered, half-jokingly, “Just take the kids and run?

“Where would we even go?” Bato asked him.

“I don’t know, Hakoda said, resting his head on Bato’s chest, “Just somewhere far. Somewhere where we could live like normal people for five damn seconds without everything going to hell.”

“That sounds pretty great,” Bato said, intertwining his fingers with Hakoda’s.

They didn’t talk much after that; the only thing that was said between the two of them was:

“I love you, you know that, right?”

“I do. I love you too. Now go to sleep. 

XXX

"Sir, we received the word from the Fire Nation ship."

A message hawk scroll was handed to Hakoda, and he scanned it before saying, "Well, we finally have a name, twenty minutes before they get here."

Katara took the scroll from his hands, and she and Sokka read it over before the oldest of the two muttered, "What kinda name is Zuko anyway?"

"Sokka," Hakoda said, is his do-not-start-things-right-now tone.

"Sorry."

"Just promise you two will be nice."

The siblings looked at each other, which did not comfort Hakoda in the slightest as he sighed and looked back out to the horizon. Soon enough, they could see the black clouds of smoke that were linked to Fire Nation vessels. As it drew closer, Hakoda noticed it was smaller than most of the ships that brought passengers to the South were, which was odd. One would think a member of the royal family would have something grand or even over the top to take them to the other end of the world to be married.

As the shipped docked, Hakoda glanced back at Bato and the kids. All three of their faces were neutral, showing that they accepted what was going to happen. He was thankful for their understanding, for their lack of complaint, for their willingness to put up with this whole order for the good of their people. It didn't make anything better, but it was telling of the people his children were growing to be and the man Bato was.

Finally, a small group made their way off the ship, seeming to be made up of four people. Two of whom were guards, maybe an advisor or other in between them, based on the robes he was wearing, and finally, a teenage boy, maybe Sokka's age or a bit older, who had a large scar covering the left side of his face, over his eye. It seemed strange that they would come out first, but the Fire Nation was known for their pageantry, so perhaps these people had to come out and speak before Prince Zuko did. 

When the small party reached them, no one said anything at first. Hakoda was going to ask something when finally the advisor man looked back at the boy and nodded his head. The teen stared at the older man for a moment before stepping forward, giving a respectful but rushed bow before saying, "Chief Hakoda, it's a pleaser to meet you."

Still a bit unsure of what all was happening, Hakoda nodded and asked, "And who might you be?"

The boy looked up, and in a voice he was trying but failing to keep steady, he said, "Prince Zuko, son of Ozai and Ursa, sir."

...

Hakoda blinked a couple of times and tried to make sure that he had heard the boy right. This had to be a mistake, surely the Firelord hadn't sent a teenager to marry him, had he? This was some messed up joke or miscommunication. They really didn't plan on having a kid marry someone old enough to be his father, right? Right?!

Looking back at the teen Hakoda noticed he was very pale like he was faint and going to pass out at any moment. His hands were shaking and not from the cold weather he was clearly underdressed for. The boy stood as tall as he could, with his shoulders back, but his face and eyes betrayed him, letting Hakoda know that this child was terrified of him. And there was only one reason Hakoda could think of for that to be the case.

No.

_No._

Firelord Azulon did _not_ just send a _child_ all the way from his home to marry a stranger who was an adult. He did not just do that to a member of his own family. There was no way anyone in the world could be that heartless to a child, to _their_ child. A wave of emotion went through Hakoda, ranging from anger to shock to sickness. He wanted to yell at the adults that were here to escort the boy and yell at them for letting this happened regardless of whether they could do anything about it.

"I," Prince Zuko said pulling the chief from his thoughts, "I'm sorry if I, um, I didn't, um..."

It then dawned on Hakoda that he hadn't said anything else, and it was clear on his face that he was not happy. Poor kid most likely thought he'd done something wrong and was trying to fix it and-

Great Spirits above and below, the Fire Nation had sent a child.

They sent a child. They wanted him to marry a child the same age as his own kids. A poor kid who was scared out of his mind by everything going on. What in the name of Tui and La- How dare they!? How dare they!


	2. Just A Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is understandably upset, the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Oh, my gosh, guys, this story blew the hell up. It's crazy, and I am thankful for all the comments and support you have given me. rosenclays beta-read this chapter, so thanks and shout out to her. You get an extra-long chapter this time, so I hope you like it. Again if you like the story, let me know in the comments, and if you ever want to reach out to me, my Tumblr is love-hello-i-m-reagan. And with that, enjoy guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!

After her dad had told them that he’d be getting married to a Fire Nation royal, Katara had prepared herself for what she thought was going to be the worst. She was ready for some rude, arrogant, vile person who’d never in a million years deserve her father and would _never_ replace her mother in any way, shape, or form. 

However, the Fire Nation teenager who kept stumbling over his words, and shaking like he was going to be sick, was somehow much, much worse. Katara quickly looked over to her brother, whose jaw had dropped and who was wearing the same look of shock as her and their dad.

This wasn’t real, right? She knew the Fire Nation to be cruel and heartless towards the rest of the world, but this was just messed up. This was just wrong on every level she could think of. The guy was maybe a year older than Sokka, or not even, and his family had sent him to the other end of the world to marry an adult.

“If I’ve done something, I apologize,” the Prince had begun saying.

“Oh, no,” Katara heard her father say, “you’ve done nothing wrong. There has been a slight change in plans, however. My children, Sokka and Katara, are going to show you around the village.”

“Huh?” Sokka said, not realizing what their dad was trying to do. Katara elbowed him quickly and discreetly, hoping he’d get the message to shut up and go with it.

“Oh,” the Prince said, looking a bit confused and somewhat relieved, “ah, yes, thank you. That would be nice.”

“Right,” Sokka said, realizing that the sooner they got away, the sooner the problem could be sorted out. “Well, we should get going then. Right this way.”

Before Katara could follow them, she felt someone grab her arm and turned to see Bato. His face was the most serious that she’d seen it in a long, long time as he told her in a voice quiet enough only for her to hear, “Play nice. I mean it this time, Katara.”

Katara didn’t have to be told that (anymore), but she nodded regardless. Bato let go of her arm, and she took off after her brother and the Fire Nation boy.

XXX

The first ten minutes went smoothly enough. Sokka led them down the main roads in town, talking about the shops and other buildings, sometimes cracking a joke or giving a few extra facts. The whole time the prince had his hands behind his back, and it was evident on his face that he was paying attention to everything Sokka was saying. He didn’t talk, though, only nodding or humming a bit. Katara briefly wondered if he was afraid to be around even them, because even though Prince Zuko was slightly calmer now, it was obvious from his body language that he was still on edge.

Once they had gone through everything, the three teenagers were left in an awkward silence that none of them were eager to break. However, after a few minutes, Katara found herself unable to take it anymore and said, “So, how was your trip here?”

Prince Zuko looked at her and said, “Oh, um, it was fine. We ran into a couple of storms early on, but after that, everything went well.”

Katara nodded, trying not to think about how, when she was a child, someone had told her if there were storms early in a long voyage, La disapproved of your journey. Maybe the ocean spirit was angered by the Firelord sending a teenager to be married off to, again, _an adult_ , and she had sent the storms to warn them of her fury.

“Just a random question,” Sokka said, with a tone that showed that probably he shouldn’t be asking, “How old are you?”

“I just turned sixteen about three months ago, earlier in the winter,” answered the prince.

“But it's late summer?” Katara said, a little confused.

“Actually, on the Northside of the equator, the seasons are flipped,” Sokka said, “So when it’s winter here, it’s summer in the Fire Nation, the North Pole, and, like, half the Earth Kingdom. Isn’t that how it works?”

“Yeah. Yes, that’s right,” Prince Zuko said, nodding.

They had begun walking again, which seemed to make the silence less awkward to handle. After a few more minutes of quiet, the Prince asked, “So, is it just you two, or do you have other siblings?”

“Just us,” Sokka said, “What about you, Prince Zuko, any siblings?”

There was a pause before he said, “You two don’t have to call me that. Just Zuko is fine.”

“Okay, then,” Sokka said. “Do you have siblings, Zuko?”

Zuko looked at the ground and said, “Yes, my sister Azula who’s fourteen, and my half-sister Kiyi. She’s two.”

The Water Tribe siblings both nodded.

Then, “Did any of your family accompany you on your way here?” Katara asked, thinking back to when the prince first arrived and recalling that there didn’t seem to be anyone besides the guards and the advisor with him.

Zuko had stopped walking for a moment before realizing that the two siblings hadn’t.

“No. My grandfather is busy and had urgent jobs for my uncle and cousin. And Azula’s about to graduate from the Royal Academy for Girls, so she couldn’t come even if she wanted to.”

His tone of voice made it sound like Zuko didn’t want his sister to have come with him, which definitely didn’t worry Katara at all.

“What about your parents?” Sokka asked carefully, hoping not to upset Zuko with the question.

“They’re divorced,” he answered. “My mother was going to come, but she got a bad case of Sage’s Cough, so she needed to stay in the Fire Nation and rest.”

“Well, I hope she feels better,” was all Katara said, seeing that Zuko looked uncomfortable talking about it.

The awkward silence returned, and it turns out, none of them had been paying attention to where they were going. Glancing up at the sky, Katara noticed that it was almost noon. Gran Gran would probably have lunch ready by the time they got home if they left now. So, with that in mind, she turned to the two boys and said, “If you're hungry now, we could go get something to eat.”

“I could go for food,” Sokka said.

They both looked back at the prince, who would ultimately decide what they did. 

On realizing this, Zuko nodded and said, “Sure, lunch sounds good.”

“Great,” she said, hoping that food would make things better. Or at least give them a reason not to talk.

XXX

“So, I take it the engagement is off, then?” Bato asked as he followed Hakoda through the capitol building.

“Not now,” the chief said, “I’m still trying to figure out what in the name of La just happened.”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Bato said. “The Firelord just sent a child for you to marry, and now we have to have an emergency meeting, while poor Miki has to keep that advisor -- I’ve forgotten his name already -- distracted.”

There wasn’t time for Hakoda to say anything because they had reached the meeting hall doors. The chief looked back at Bato one more time before pushing the doors open and finding a room full of elders already talking away about everything that had just gone down at the docks. The noise died down a little as Hakoda took his seat at the table, soon followed by Bato doing the same.

The first thing he said once the room was quiet was, “I think it’s clear that I am not going to marry a child.”

“Of course not,” Atka said, outrage clear on her face.

“I don’t understand,” Nanook said, shaking his head. “Didn’t we clearly state in the contract we sent them that whoever was sent had to be of an appropriate age and have the ability to consent? Or did they think we’d be too stupid to notice?”

“Or worse,” Yaka suggested, “They knew we’d be furious and won’t agree to it, and are planning on using our refusal to escalate things.”

“If that is the case, then it is clear the Fire Nation has no intention of brokering peace with us,” Kanak said. “They wish to start the war again.”

“Calm down,” Atka said, “We have no evidence that that is the truth. It also seems like too much of a risk for them to take.”

“Perhaps we should question that advisor,” Kalluk said, “explain the problem -- which they clearly don’t see -- and aim to find a workaround.”

“We need to be careful so they don’t threaten to pull out of the deal,” Nanook reminded them.

“What do we do with the boy until everything’s settled?” Bato asked.

Hakoda sighed and racked his brain for an answer. He didn’t think it was possible to have Katara and Sokka keep the prince busy forever, but what else was there to do? All the chief really could come up with at the moment was pray that the whole matter could be fixed quickly, and maybe get the boy to stop looking at Hakoda like he was scared of being murdered.

XXX

Kanna did not know what to make of the Fire Nation Prince currently in her home. He bowed respectfully upon being introduced to her and said he was honored to meet her. He was nothing but polite and cordial, and not at all what she had been expecting from a Fire Nation Prince. 

He was a few inches taller than Sokka, and not necessarily slim, but not as stocky as she knew teenage boys in the tribe to be. The scar on his face was red and angry looking, and Kanna didn’t even want to know how it got there. She also noticed that he seems almost skittish, as if with one wrong move, he might run.

Overall he was not what Kanna had been dreading, but nevertheless, she was still horrified due to the fact that he was a child sent to be married to an older man. When Hakoda had first told her that he accepted a marriage proposal from the Fire Nation, she was heartbroken and outraged. She had left her home in the North Pole when she was a young woman to escape the fate of being trapped in a loveless union, and she had the hope that her children and grandchildren would never have to go through something like that either. Then years later, her widowed son told her that he had no other choice but to enter a loveless union for their tribe’s sake. Kanna wanted to be furious, but not at her son. It wasn’t Hakoda’s fault, and besides, how could she be mad at him doing something for the good of the tribe, seeing as that’s how she had raised him? No, her temper was directed at the Fire Nation, plain and simple. 

But still, thinking back to the intense arranged-marriage culture in the Northern Water Tribe, she couldn’t recall any marriages with an age gap larger than five years, and even that much was rare. Even so, both parties had to be older than eighteen before the actual wedding happened.

That’s why it was troubling that the boy was here. Because even though Kanna was numb to the concept of an arranged, political marriage, the idea of a child being made to marry an adult was sickening. It wasn’t right, it was an abuse of power, and the spirits didn’t approve of such arrangements. There were countless stories of people who took much younger brides, and they didn’t end well because the spirits (or at least Tui and La) disapproved of the inherent harm to the younger member of the couple.

Kanna tried to shake these thoughts from her head as she finished up lunch and set it down for the children. Sokka and Katara had talked to each other just a little since arriving, but overall the three teenagers sat mostly in silence. This should have been troubling, because Kanna found it hard to get her grandchildren to stop talking for long.

As they ate, things didn’t get much better. It was clear the Fire Nation teen did not enjoy stewed sea prunes, which was understandable; it was a naturally salty dish that a lot of people outside the Water Tribes didn’t have the palate for. But he didn’t say a word, and ate it anyway and really did try to hide the fact that he did not like it.

It was clear the boy was doing his best not to be rude or do anything to insult anyone. He kept his jaw shut tightly after he had finished his meal and sat rigidly until everyone else had finished. Not long after, he turned to Kanna and asked, “Would it be alright if I took a step outside for a moment, ma’am?”

“Of course,” was all Kanna could say. If the boy didn’t get a minute alone, something terrible was bound to happen. The Prince stopped himself from standing up too fast and bowed again before leaving.

Once he was done, Katara turned to her and asked, “Gran Gran, what are we supposed to do?”

Kanna sighed and said, “I’m not sure, my dear. The only thing that we can do at the moment is be civil and hospitable.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone act so stiff and awkward,” Sokka muttered.

“The stiff part I agree with, but I’ve seen you trying to talk to girls, and that definitely takes the cake for awkwardness,” Katara said.

“Hey!”

“Children,” Kanna warned.

“He’s scared of us,” Katara stated matter-of-factly. “He’s alone and surrounded by strangers. Probably thinks one wrong move on his part, and the whole deal will fall apart.”

“Oh, the deal is going to fall apart, alright,” Kanna said. “But isn’t his fault. It’s the Firelord’s fault for sending him.”

And that was the thing. If Kanna was correct, then Prince Zuko was the grandson of Firelord Azulon. She didn’t know how someone could look at their grandchild, one of the greatest gifts the spirits had to offer and decide that they didn’t get to be a child anymore; that they had to grow up and marry someone they didn’t know, and they could never go home again. How anyone could do that to their grandchild, Kanna didn’t know. But also, it was the Fire Nation, so was she really that surprised?

XXX

The second he was outside, Zuko finally felt like he could breathe again and gasped for air as if he’d been held underwater. The icy air burned in his lungs, and he stumbled towards the back of the hut so no one would see him. Once he was there, he sunk to his knees and tried to get a hold of himself.

 _Don’t throw up,_ he told himself for the umpteenth time that day. _Don’t you dare throw up. You can do this. Nothing bad has even happened yet. Suck it up. You have a job to do. You’ve already messed up once today. You can’t do it again._

Zuko flung his head back and stared at the sky. Today couldn’t get much worse. He was exhausted, having not been able to sleep properly since the day he left the Caldera, and the South Pole was so cold. Zuko was used to the tropics of the Fire Nation, and the royal tailor was unpracticed in making clothes for climates colder than the mountains. Zuko was freezing in his too-soft, too-thin robes, carefully trying to use his inner fire to keep himself warm.

He remembered praying to Agni that morning, literally praying on his knees for the spirits to please let his intended be young. Let the man Zuko was marrying for the sake of his country be in his twenties. It still wasn’t ideal, but it was at least better than marrying someone who could be his parent.

Zuko had begged of Agni to please grant him this small mercy if nothing else. But as always, luck was not on Zuko’s side. Chief Hakoda had to be the same age as Zuko’s own father and was also a great deal taller than him. The first thought that had come to mind on seeing the Southern Water Tribe leader was: he could kill me if he wanted to, he looks strong enough.

He didn’t want to think about it, but it couldn’t be helped, not after months of hearing the rumors floating around the palaces about the savagery of the Water Tribes. The rumours were all stupid and undoubtedly false, but still, he couldn’t get the image of violent tribesmen who drank blood and could snap a man’s neck with one hand out of his mind. Zuko couldn’t pretend to be calm after hearing all the vile things people thought would happen to him after he was married. He couldn’t act like it was fine after months of listening to Azula fill his head with fear and lies just for her own amusement. He couldn’t ignore the things that crept into his dreams on the off-chance he managed some sleep.

But then there was the problem of how Chief Hakoda had reacted to him. The man looked shocked and confused at the sight of him and then turned angry. Zuko wasn’t sure what he had done wrong. His sleep-deprived brain could come up with the only thing that made sense: Chief Hakoda was unimpressed with Zuko and insulted by his presence. Azula had said this would happen.

But then the man had sent Zuko off with his children, who were his age, which he didn’t want to think about too much. To Zuko’s surprise, the Pole was a lively place, with the people of the Tribe all out and about, working and living their lives. The tour was the best part of his day, because all he had to do was shut the hell up and listen to whatever Sokka told him. Some of the things he talked about were quite interesting, if Zuko was honest. But then Sokka had stopped talking, and Zuko didn’t know what to do.

Never in his life had he been around boys his age, and Katara didn’t seem anything like the girls he knew; Mai, Ty Lee, or Azula. Not only that, but Zuko knew hardly anything about Water Tribe culture. It was never taught to him as a child, and there were no books in the Royal Library about anything outside the Fire Nation. Zuko didn’t get any lessons after the announcement of his engagement, either. He had almost gone to his grandfather to ask if it were possible that he still could, but he thought better of it. Usually, he’d go to Uncle and ask him to teach him what he knew, but he was so busy trying to get Zuko out of the arrangement that the Prince didn’t want to bother him, and had to go to his cousin. Lu Ten hadn’t been able to tell him much, but everything he did, Zuko latched onto.

Still, he didn’t know what might offend or insult the people around him, so he kept his mouth shut. Until they started asking him questions, forcing Zuko to speak. They kept calling him ‘Prince’, which wasn’t anything other than normal but, for some reason, felt weird. He couldn’t figure out why, but there was just something about them using his title along with everything else that just seemed uncomfortable. So he asked that they just call him by his name, which made things a little better.

When they asked him about lunch, Zuko knew perfectly well he couldn’t just say, “I’ve wanted to vomit since I woke up this morning, so food is the last thing I want,” so he nodded his head and followed the two Water Tribe siblings towards their home.

Their grandmother stared at him warily upon introduction, something that Zuko could understand. If the past three years of relearning history taught him anything, it was that the rest of the world really did not like the Fire Nation. After this introduction, she left Zuko and her grandkids in uncomfortable silence again until the food was ready. Apparently, the universe just wanted to torture Zuko, because stewed sea prunes were the worst. The dish smelt good, at least, Zuko really tried to enjoy it, but the prunes were just so salty, and the texture of the broth was weird. Not wanting to risk offending the old woman, he finished it all, even though it didn’t sit well in his stomach. As he waited for the other to finish their own food, his head spun.

What would happen now? What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Nothing had gone according to plan since he got off the ship this morning. He was messing up, and he didn’t even know how. Grandfather hadn’t asked much of him. He had said that all Zuko had to do was shut up and do whatever anyone asked of him. He just had to act perfectly until he was married, then do whatever his husband said after that. That was all Zuko had to do. He just had to be quiet and act complacent.

Be quiet and act complacent.

Become ‘domestic’ was what Grandfather had said to him. Put aside your own masculinity. Do that for the sake of your country, and for the sake of your family.

But Zuko didn’t want to. Yes, he wanted to do what was right for his country and his family, but didn’t want to act hyper-feminine. He didn’t want to act docile either. It was confusing. For so long, both Grandfather and Father had told him not to behave that way, to forget about liking boys, because as Prince of the Fire Nation, it was disgraceful. Then, one day, they had turned around and told him the opposite.

Zuko closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath, telling himself not to cry. He was sixteen and royal. He didn’t get to cry over things like this. He dug his hands into the ground until the snow numbed his skin. _Breathe_ , he told himself. _Just breathe, everything will be fine. You will be fine._

Then, Zuko felt something move along his torso and up his chest. Druk poked his little head out of the front of Zuko’s shirt and whined, as if he knew that he was upset.

“Hey, Druk,” Zuko said. “Are you awake now?”

The dragon chuffed and then climbed out of Zuko’s shirt and into his lap. Then, Druk sat up and poked Zuko’s cheek with his snout, the way he always did when he knew his master was sad. The Prince laughed just a little bit, before glaring down at the snow again.

It was childish. It was a childish thing to think. It was a childish thing to want. But as he scooped Druk up in his arms and held him to his chest, Zuko muttered, “I want Mom. I want her here with us. Or Uncle, or Lu Ten. I just wish I wasn’t alone.”

Druk made another sad cooing noise and curled his tail around Zuko’s arm, like a sort of mock dragon-hug. The teen closed his eyes and began counting to ten in his mind and then back down, hoping it would calm him. In doing this, Zuko didn’t hear the footsteps approaching.

“Zuko, are you okay? You’ve been out here for fifteen minutes- What is that?”

Zuko jumped and turned to see Sokka and Katara looking right at him. Right at Druk. Panicked, he lied. “Oh! What? He’s nothing! He’s a… lizard-cat-!"

Zuko quickly realized what an idiotic thing he’d just said and closed his eyes in embarrassment. Druk slipped out of his arms and began climbing up Sokka.

“Ah!” the other boy yelped.

Zuko stood up as fast as he could and said, “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. He likes new people.”

As Druk clung onto Sokka’s parka, the dragon seemed very interested in the softness of the treated fur and nuzzled his face into it. Katara’s eyes were wide with wonder as she asked again, “What is he, really?”

“He’s a dragon,” Zuko said, nervously. “I- I couldn’t leave him in the Fire Nation. He’s not even a year old yet. He still needs me.”

“He looks like a mink-snake without fur,” she said, holding out her finger to pet under Druks chin. This made the dragon happy enough that he made his joyful little purring-growl noises. Zuko then extended his arm for Druko to crawl back on. 

Once free of the little dragon, Sokka asked, “Where were you keeping him?”

“He likes my body heat, so he’ll sneak under my robes,” Zuko explained as Druk dived down his shirt, only to pop back out a few seconds later to climb up and rest across Zuko’s shoulder. “You can never really tell because he flattens his body, and it’s hard to tell he’s breathing when he does it.”

“Huh,” was all Sokka said.

Katara then said, “Well, we were wondering if you wanted to go get your things, and we can take them to our house so you can get settled.”

Zuko blinked. Was he staying with them? No one told him that. Well, no one had told him anything about what was to happen once they got here. Zuko wanted to say ‘no’; that the idea of having to live in the same space as his betrothed sooner than he needed to made his gut churn. Again, though, he couldn’t just say that, so he nodded his head and followed close behind them to go and collect his things.

XXX

Hakoda was ready to kill the man in front of him. For the past thirty minutes, this man had tried to justify the Firelord's choice in sending him a child. He was saying things like the contract never stated what the Water Tribe's age of adulthood was (which it actually did) or that the prince was old enough to marry and consent in the Fire Nation (which wasn’t the point). Hakoda had asked if no one found it morally wrong to have a teenager marry someone of his age. Then the advisor said this wasn’t a matter of morality. It was a matter of politics.

If Bato had not been holding his upper arm, sending a silent message to let it go, Hakoda might have lost it right then and there. The spirits were testing him, there was no doubt about that.

“I need you to understand,” Hakoda said, “that I cannot marry a sixteen-year-old child. I am not going to marry a sixteen-year-old child.”

“You agreed to marry whoever was sent,” the advisor said.

“That was before you violated the terms of the contract. You sent a child.”

“The terms aren’t violated by Fire Nation standards.”

“This isn’t the Fire Nation,” Bato said, his voice raised just a bit, showing how angry the other man was growing as well.

“Regardless, the Prince cannot return to the Fire Nation now,” the advisor said. “He’s to be married or dishonored. If you want to help, you’ll do what was agreed upon and sign the documents in the morning.”

With that, the man turned to leave the room, and Hakoda had never wanted to throw something at someone’s head so badly in all his life. After a few deep breaths, he turned to Bato and said, “What do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Bato said.

“We need to keep the peace deal, but I refuse to marry a kid,” Hakoda said.

“I know that,” Bato replied.

“Are you just going to keep saying that you know or you don’t know?”

“Hakoda, what else do you want me to say?” Bato asked. “I’m not sure how we’re meant to fix this and keep everything under control. So, if you have an idea then please tell me.”

Hakoda sighed and pinched his brow before walking back over to his desk to look at all the papers. He wondered if somewhere in the wording of all the documents they could find a loophole or a workaround; some way to make sure the deal still happened and not have to marry the Prince. He told this to Bato and the other man took half of them and they sat down to try and sort this out.

After a minute or so of looking through papers, Hakoda sighed and said, “Do you think someone should talk to the boy?”

“What?”

“Do you think someone should explain to the Prince what’s going on? Let him know he’s done nothing wrong?”

“That would probably be best,” Bato agreed.

“The only problem is the kid is terrified of me,” Hakoda said.

Bato didn’t say anything at first and then said, “I’m sure once you tell him he’s not going to marry you, he’ll calm down.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

XXX

Zuko stared at the two trunks of his belongings. One was just for clothes, the other for things like his theater scrolls, small paintings of his family, his dao swords, and few other little things. He was tired; it had been a long day, that’s why he hadn’t unpacked. It was because he was tired. There was no other reason his things weren’t out. Nope, no other reason. He’d unpack in the morning.

For now, Zuko wanted to sleep. He wasn’t sure if he’d get any real rest, but he needed to try. He undid his painful top knot and quickly combed his hair. It was only a little bit longer than chin length. When he stayed with his mother before leaving the Fire Nation, she had cut it for him before she got sick. It was an old tradition. If someone was leaving their homeland, most likely never to return, a loved one was meant to cut a few inches of hair at sunrise. Those strains were then to be burned as a tribute to Agni to keep the person safe.

Zuko remembered how his mom ran her fingers through his hair, asking if he still wanted her to do it. Looking back he didn't much of a choice, not after what he had done to it before. He remembered how careful she was as she washed his hair and then cut it. He remembered her taking the strands of cut hair, throwing them into the fire, and silently praying over them. When it was done, she smiled and cupped his face, saying how different he looked before showing him how to put his new shortened hair in a top knot. It had been nice.

Once his hair was brushed, he changed into the thickest pair of pajamas he owned. Then he sat on his new bed and scooped Druk up into his arms, unsure what to do, now, even though a few minutes ago he was ready for sleep. The little dragon grumbled and clicked while nuzzling Zuko’s jaw.

He was about to get up and grab one of the blankets he had brought with him so he could try to get some sleep, but there was a knock on the door. Zuko told his visitor to come in, and Chief Hakoda walked through the door. Zuko froze in place.

 _Why is he here?_ Zuko wondered. _What did I do? What does he want?_

Before Zuko could spiral too much more, the Water Tribe man said, “I’d like to apologize for any confusion as a result of what happened this morning. Things were not communicated properly, and as a result of that, there are some issues to be resolved. But the change of plans has nothing to do with you or anything that you did.”

That was not what Zuko had thought he was going to say.

“Oh, um. That’s good,” was all the teen could say, pulling Druk closer to his chest but relaxing just a tiny bit. In the back of his mind, he wondered if the chief was going to ask about the dragon or if his children had already informed him of Druk.

“There is something we need to discuss, though,” Chief Hakdoa said, making Zuko tense right back up again.

“What would that be?”

“When your grandfather first presented this arrangement to us, a contract was drafted,” the chief explained. “It had a list of terms and conditions that needed to be followed. In sending you, the terms were violated, and so the marriage cannot go forward.”

All of the blood in Zuko’s body turned to ice. What? What had he done to violate the terms? For months he’d dreamed of someone turning around and saying he no longer had to go through with the marriage. But he was here now, and if he returned to the Fire Nation having failed to do his duty, he didn’t know what he’d do. The marriage had to go through. If it didn’t, Father would…

“I, I don’t know what I did wrong,” Zuko said, standing up, “but whatever it was, I can fix it. I can change it.”

“No, you don’t understand,” the older man began.

“No!” Zuko cried. “You don’t understand! This needs to happen. It is my only job to make sure the alliance is secured. It’s the one job they gave me that I couldn't screw up. Please, I’ll do anything, _anything_ just don’t back out of the deal. Please, I’ll do whatever is needed, I promise! I’ll fix any problem.”

“Prince Zuko, the problem is that you are sixteen,” Chief Hakoda said. “Here you are not of the age of adulthood. I understand that you are in the Fire Nation, but-”

“I’m not,” Zuko said.

“What?”

“I’m not of age in the Fire Nation, either,” Zuko said. “The age of adulthood is twenty. I was told that here, the consenting age was sixteen, and that’s why I was okay to be engaged.”

Zuko could see anger flash in Chief Hakoda’s eyes as he said that last part. Then in a tone that was too calm for Zuko’s liking, he asked, “Who told you that?”

“It’s what my grandfather told my uncle after he objected to the arraignment,” Zuko said, looking down too afraid to look the older man in the eye. 

It was another few seconds before the chief said, “I can assure you that is not that the case. Which brings us back to the problem. You’re a child still; marriage isn’t something you can agree to. That’s why the marriage can’t go through.”

“If I fail to do this...” Zuko began, shaking his head.

“You haven’t failed,” Chief Hakoda insisted. “This whole ordeal is not your fault.”

“But, it will look that way if I go back!” Zuko said. “I’ll dishonor my family and myself. I can’t go back. I don’t want to go back. Not when I know what the repercussions are. I can’t go back! I can’t go back. It’s my job to make sure the deal happens. If I don’t do this the Father will-”

The corners of Zuko’s eyes stung. _Do not cry,_ he told himself, _don’t you dare fucking cry._ Druk whined and poked at his cheek to no avail.

“Prince Zuko,” Chief Hakoda said, “forget about any repercussions or punishments. Forget about any deals or treaties. Answer this question for me, do you want to go home? If you could go home right now, would you?”

“I, I don’t think it’s possible to- I’m afraid-”

“What is it that you want, Prince Zuko?”

Zuko looked at him and blinked. He should’ve wanted to go home in a heartbeat, so he could see Uncle and Lu Ten and his mother again. But even in some magical scenario where there was no punishment for failing to secure the marriage alliance, Zuko would still have to deal with everything that had made his life miserable before.

He’d still have to deal with the shame around the court relating to his scar. He’d still have to put up with Azula’s torment and lies that had only grown worse since their parents’ split. He’d still have to go through weeks of loneliness when Uncle and Lu Ten were away on business. He’d still only be able to see his mother a handful of times a year.

He thought of the palace, dark and lacking life. Not because few people resided there, but because hardly anyone was allowed to really live. Zuko knew if he didn’t get married now, it wouldn’t be long before Father or Grandfather found someone else to pawn him off to. There’d be no escaping it. Honestly, Zuko had been miserable for a long time. Long before the engagement ever happened. The only things that consistently brought him joy in the Fire Nation had been his uncle, cousin, and Druk. But was staying here better? Was living in a strange place he knew nothing about better than returning to his homeland? 

Finally, Zuko said, “I don’t know. I don’t know what I want. All I know is I can’t go back, even if I wanted to.”

There was a short pause before Chief Hakoda said, “What if I were to tell you that you could stay here?” 

Zuko looked up at him, “What?”

“You could stay here,” the man repeated. “You wouldn’t have to marry anyone or do anything like that. You’d just stay here for as long as you wanted. And if you wanted to return to the Fire Nation, we could make it happen and return you home at any time.”

“You- you could do that?” Zuko asked.

“Yes.”

“And I could go home whenever I wanted?”

“Yes.”

“What about the deal?”

“I don’t want you to worry about that anymore,” Chief Hakoda said. “Anything and everything will be resolved.”

Zuko didn’t know what to say as he looked down at Druk, who had settled down and was now curled up quietly in his arms. He couldn’t go back to the Fire Nation, no matter what. Even if he was to go to Hira’a and be with his mother and her family, he’d likely be found out and banished. But now he could stay here without having to get married? He didn't know anything about Water Tribe culture, though! However, the thought of the throne room, with Grandfather so high up, looking down upon him. Eyes full of disappointment and fury.

“I didn’t want to get married,” Zuko muttered. “I told Grandfather I wasn’t ready, that I wasn’t skilled enough to handle international affairs. He told me I was childish, and it was my duty to the Fire Nation to go along with it.”

Chief Hakoda didn’t say anything as Zuko went on.

“I know my country, my family has done horrible things, not just to your people, but to the whole world. I’ve wanted to help fix things any way I could for a long time, but I was so scared to leave everything behind. I just want to help my country. Help my people.”

“And that is a very honorable thing for you to want to do,” Chief Hakoda said.

Honorable. It seemed everything Zuko tried to do something honorable, he got hurt one way or another.

Zuko thought of Uncle, and how desperate he was to have the marriage stopped. He knew that Uncle loved him just as much as he loved Lu Ten. He knew that he’d welcome Zuko back with open arms the minute he could. He’d just have to wait till Grandfather was gone. Until then.

Zuko looked back at the chief.

“I can stay, no strings attached, and it would be alright?” he asked again.

“Of course.”

Zuko nodded and said, “Okay, okay. I'll stay. I can’t go back, not while Grandfather is still Firelord, so I’ll stay.”

The older man nodded and said, “In that case, you should rest. It’s been a long day.”

Zuko nodded as Chief Hakoda left the room. Once he was gone, he fell back on the bed, feeling relieved for the first time in months.

XXX

After talking with the prince, Hakoda was furious. He hadn’t planned to walk away from the meeting offering for the Prince to stay, but he’d had no choice. The boy was terrified to go home. And after the events of the past couple of months, and what he must have gone through, Hakoda didn’t blame him.

When he got out to the central area of the house, he found Bato still looking through papers for a way to fix things.

“You don’t need to do that anymore,” Hakoda said darkly.

Bato looked up at him, face showing consure, “What do you mean?”

“The deal’s off.”

The taller of the two men blinked and said, “What?”

“The deal’s off,” Hakoda said again, “I’m not making peace or building alliances with a man who does this to his sixteen-year-old grandson. There’s no way.”

“Hakoda,” Bato said, standing up, “what happened? What did he tell you?”

“They lied to him,” the Chief said. “They told him the age of adulthood here was sixteen. And they lied to us; the age of adulthood in the Fire Nation is twenty. They knew it wasn’t legal or allowed for him to be the one they sent, and they did it anyway.”

Bato’s jaw hung open and disbelief. After a minute or two, he said, “The boy can’t go back there. Not if this is the sort of thing they’d do to him.”

“I know that,” Hakoda said. “That’s why I offered for him to stay.”

“You did what?”

“I told him he could stay with us and not have to get married. I said that if he wanted to go back, we’d take him, but I don’t think that will be happening soon.”

Bato looked at him like he wanted to say something. After running a hand through his hair, he asked Hakoda, “Are we about to do something stupid?”

“I have no idea, but I don’t know what else is there for us to do.”

After another pause, Bato asked, “So he’d live with us?”

“Who else would he stay with?”

“How do you think Sokka and Katara will feel?”

“I think they’ll like him more than a step-mom,” Hakoda answered. Bato chuckled at that.

“Alright then, I guess there's one on thing left to do.”

“Tell that advisor guy to go to face La’s wrath?”

“Essentially.”

XXX

The next morning when the Fire Nation man handed Hakoda the documents to sighed, the chief ripped them apart. The advisor looked on in horror as Hakoda stepped closer to him and said, “Tell Firelord Azulon to go fuck himself. Tell him the deal is off, and there’s nothing to be done about it. Tell him how his actions have insulted me and my people. Tell him that we will not make peace with a coward like him, who sends a terrified child in place of an adult. Tell him his grandson will be treated well, but no one is marrying him, and even if they ask for him, we won’t deliver him back to the people who were going to punish him with a marriage to a man who could be his father. Tell the Firelord that if any of your ships are seen in our waters, we won’t hesitate. Tell him the spirits will deliver their wrath upon him for his crimes, and we will rejoice when they do. You say those exact words to him. Now get the hell out of my country.”

Hakoda watched as the Fire Nation men hurried back to their ship. He watched as the boat sailed farther and farther away. Once they were out of sight, he turned to Bato and said, “What now?”

“Pray war doesn’t happen,” Bato said, still looking out at the horizon.

“And the boy?” Hakoda asked, realizing there was no going back.

“We do our best with him. Set him right.”

Hakoda sighed, and the two of them didn’t say another word about it.

Late afternoon, a messenger hawk came. It had the royal seal on it, and Hakoda wasn’t sure how it got to them so fast, but brushed the thought aside as he read the message.

_To Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe,_

_Keep the boy. See if we care._

_Prince Ozai, Son of Firelord Azulon._

And that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you see, have cranked up some of the angst. Sorry if some points felt repetitive, but I was trying to drive home the fact that an adult marrying a child is **_WRONG_**. As the chapters go on, I will explain why Zuko has Druk, the details behind Ursa and Ozai being divorced, and how Zuko is a tiny bit better at dealing with his emotions, and other things like that. With that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and remember to leave a comment if you enjoyed it. Until next time!


	3. Where Do We Go Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've adopted a sad, semi-angry fire child and his dragon. Now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup everybody?! How are you? Are you good? I hope you're good. I'm back to give you another chapter. Just a note ~X~ means your reading a flashback. This chapter was once again beta read by rosenclays, thanks again :). With that, I hope you enjoy it, and if you do remember to leave comments at the end. I love hearing your guys thought and feelings and I do keep them in mind when I write. With that enjoy guys, gals, and non-binary pals!

Zuko had asked to see the letter his father sent to Chief Hakoda. The message was short and very much typical of how his father spoke of him.

Father did not love him. Zuko knew this. He had learned the hard way that Father did not love him, and never would, no matter what Zuko did. Father didn’t care what happened to him. Sending Zuko here and their interactions the months leading up to it had made that clear. Ozai didn’t give a damn what happened to him. Zuko _knew_ this by now.

So why did it feel like a punch in the gut to read those words? Why was anger bubbling up inside him? Why did the lack of care still hurt the way it did? It shouldn't. It shouldn’t matter at all. But it did, and Zuko hated it.

Druk had growled at the scroll and nipped at it, trying to take it out of his master’s hands, as if the dragon knew Ozai wrote it. Before he could do that, Zuko handed the scroll back to the Water Tribe chief. He didn’t say anything to Zuko, and honestly, that’s how the teen preferred it. He didn’t want pity or people feeling sorry for him.

“So, what do you want from me?” Zuko asked, absentmindedly stroking Druk’s back while looking off to the side.

“I’ve already told you don’t have to do anything to stay here,” Chief Hakoda said.

“I know,” Zuko replied, “But I don’t just want to sit here and do nothing while I stay.”

“Well, what skills do you have?”

Zuko thought about it for a moment and realized none of his few talents were useful to Water Tribe life, or what he had seen of it.

“I guess they’re not that helpful,” he muttered.

“What are they?” the chief asked again.

With a sigh, Zuko said, “I’m a good enough swordsman, and I know a little about apothecary work. Other than that, nothing that will be useful to how life here works.”

“Alright,” he said. “What about your education? Were you in the middle of studying any particular subject when you left the Fire Nation?”

“My formal education ended when I was fourteen,” Zuko said, “On my own, I was studying history again. But that wasn't really a strict task.”

“I see,” Chief Hakoda said, “Well, winter will be arriving here soon for us, meaning we’ll have to put aside nonessential work to have everyone help hunt and gather, so we have enough to stay alive in those months. I'm sure you can help Sokka and Katara with that. However, there’s time until then. You said you know about apothecary?”

“Not a lot,” Zuko insisted, “My mother’s parents taught her, and she taught me a little before she had to leave the court.”

“Well, we have a woman from the Northern Tribe who teaches waterbending and healing here. She knows about apothecary, as well. If you wanted, you could learn more from her.”

“I have nothing better to do,” Zuko muttered.

“I’ll have Katara take you to meet her tomorrow,” Chief Hakoda said, “There’s one other thing I’d like to talk to you about.”

“What is that?”

“Your dragon.”

At that, Zuko looked up at him, and Druk cocked his head to the side and chuffed.

“It’s nothing bad,” the man promised, “I’m just wondering how fast and how big he’s going to grow.”

“Well, um,” Zuko began, looking down at the creature in his arms, “It depends. Every dragon is different. Some take centuries to reach their full-size; others only need a year. I’m pretty sure he’ll stay small enough for the first couple of years. I guess he’ll be riding size in maybe three to four years. I’m not sure.”

“Wait, are you telling me that he’s going to get big enough for someone to be able to ride him?” Chief Hakoda asked.

Zuko looked at him, then to Druk, and back and said, “Probably.”

There was a pause.

“Okay then,” the chief said, “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

Zuko nodded, and then it was quiet. He was almost going to get up and leave when the man asked, “Are you alright? With all that has been going on, I can understand it being a lot to deal with.”

The prince blinked. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure. Zuko was undoubtedly in a better headspace than he had been a week ago, but that didn’t mean he was okay. He wasn’t really happy or anything, but he didn’t feel the need to break down completely. He was just…

“I’m fine,” he muttered.

Chief Hakoda gave him a look that said _I don’t buy that,_ but he once again said nothing.

The silence in the room wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy, and it was growing uncomfortable. Zuko found himself not wanting to sit with it anymore and stood up, saying, “if that’s all, I think I should be going.”

Chief Hakoda gave him another look that Zuko couldn’t understand, but nodded his head, “Alright then, you remember how to get back to the house?”

“Yes,” Zuko said, partly lying. He knew some of the way, and if he got lost, Druk could help him get back. Dragons never forget places.

“Good,” Chief Hakoda said. “You can go then.”

With a quick nod, Zuko was out the door.

Once out of the office, Zuko threw back his head and let out a heavy sigh. Agni, he felt tired. He felt so tired. A voice in his head kept complaining that he wanted to go home, but where was that? Not here, but certainly not the palace either. Maybe home was the few days he spent with his mother in Hira’a, but even that seemed wrong.

With all this swirling around in his head, there was one other question that kept nagging at Zuko. It was stupid and unimportant, but he still wondered.

He looked down at Druk and asked, “How do you think they got a hawk out so fast?”

XXX

The Council of Elders had been told of Hakoda’s plans before the scene at the docks went down. Just like the council meeting the day before, it had not been fun. 

“We can not have an alliance with a country that not only disrespects our laws but their own,” Atka had said. “There is no way we can build peace off of lies as heavy as these.”

“It’s embarrassing,” Kalluk said, “for them to do something so awful and seem to care so little.”

“But the treaties, the deal,” Nanook began.

“If they can not honor the words of a simple marriage contract,” Kanak said, “then, how can we count on them to follow the words of a treaty we fought for five years over?”

Yaka sighed. “We’ll have to make a new trade deal with the Northern Tribe since we’ll have to avoid Fire Nation waters and use the Earth Kingdom pass instead.”

“Tui and La, help us,” Atka muttered, shaking her head.

“We’ll also have to do everything in our power to make sure we didn’t encounter any of their ships either. We can’t give anyone a reason to attack, unless we want to risk war breaking out again,” Kalluk noted, pinching his brow.

“Would they attack us? We have one of their princes here,” Nanook said.

“I think it’s overwhelmingly clear that the Firelord cares very little for the boy,” Atka sighed, “but who knows, maybe we’ll have a bargaining chip after all.”

“Do I have your permission to cut off negotiations, then?” Hakoda had asked.

The councilmembers each gave a nod of approval, and that was that.

So now, here they were, in the aftermath of it all. The _see if I care_ message they had received from Prince Ozai put to bed their worries about any immediate attacks. The future, however, was still up in the air.

“It will be hard, but if we work out new trade routes, we should be fine,” Bato said, as they sat in Hakoda’s office, poring over a map. “The Fire Nation doesn’t have reason to come near us anymore, and they don’t use the eastern routes, so maybe we can manage until Firelord Azulon passes.”

“I think you're right,” Hakoda said, “but the thing that’s bugging me is, what if they find a reason to come?”

“What reason, other than to get Prince Zuko back, would they have?” Bato asked, looking at him. When the chief didn’t answer him, he continued, “There was nothing else for us to do, Koda. They lied to us. We can’t trust them. Everyone wanted this to work, but it was never going to, not with them.”

Hakoda sighed, getting up from his chair, “Doesn’t make it any less aggravating. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s what had to be done, but at the same time, I told our people that this was all going to be over, and now it’s not.”

“Hakoda, if you had gone through with it and married a child, the tribe and the spirits would be furious with you.”

“I know,” he said. “I know. It’s done now. It’s just,” -- a sigh -- “I’m not even sure anymore.”

Bato got up from his chair and stood by the other man, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Koda, we’ve done all we can for now. Whatever happens next, we can deal with it. And I will be here to help you take care of whatever's next, I promise.”

Hakoda looked back at him, not saying anything for a good minute. Then there was a tug on the front of his shirt, and Bato felt his lips collide with other man's. It wasn’t like this was the first time the chief had kissed him out of nowhere, but it never failed to catch him off guard when it happened. Spirits, he loved it, though. 

Before he had time to react fully, Hakoda pulled away and then wrapped his arms around Bato’s middle so tight the taller man briefly thought his ribs would crack.

“Thank you,” Hakoda muttered.

“For what?” Bato asked, returning the embrace.

“Well,” he began, “first off, trying to make me feel better about all this. It’s not working that well yet, but it is highly appreciated.”

That got a small chuckle out of Bato before Hakoda went on.

“Secondly, thank you for just... everything. You’ve been more than I deserve, these past couple of mouths—the past couple of years at that. You haven’t complained. You’ve stood by me through so much insanity, given up more than I could ever make up to you. All while being my second-in-command, and helping me take care of Sokka and Katara. You’ve been-” he stopped and let out a sigh before looking back up at Bato, “You’ve been very good to me, and I’m thankful for that.”

“You’ve been pretty good to me too,” Bato said, cupping Hakoda’s face with his hand. “And I know there’s not a lot either of us can say or do to fix this whole situation, but whatever happens, I’m going to be right here.”

“Thank the Spirits for that,” Hakoda said, smiling just a bit.

The taller man just smiled in return and pecked the top of his partner’s head. After another moment, he asked:

“Hey, Koda?”

“Yes?”

“You wanna know one upside to the whole mess?”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Now, your two idiot kids aren’t going to try and pull off the massive amounts of pranks and schemes they had planned to scare off your betrothal.”

“I’m sorry they were planning to do _what_ now?”

Bato laughed and said, “They are not as good at keeping their plans hidden as they think they are.”

“What in Tui’s light did they have planned?” Hakoda asked, looking horrified at the idea.

“Oh, a lot of things,” Bato said, “Random ice sheets that came from nowhere. A couple of mink-snakes in boots. An unharnessed sled being pushed down a hill. Sokka also mentioned something about seal blubber; I still have no idea what that was about.”

Hakoda sighed and leaned his head back. “They’re going to turn me gray.”

“That will be two of us,” Bato said. “I’m pretty sure this is the spirits punishing us for all the things we put our mothers through when we were that age.”

“Oh, La, no,” Hakoda groaned, resting his forehead against Bato’s chest. The Bato just laughed again and held Hakoda closer.

They were quiet again, and Bato wasn’t eager to break the silence. For the first time since this whole arranged marriage nightmare had begun, they were allowed to be just them — no bitter feelings about having limited time left together. They didn’t have to feel guilty about being together, like when they'd found out Hakoda was to be engaged. There were no snobby Earth Kingdom generals or Fire Nation nobles they had to play nice with for the time being. For even a tiny, minuscule second, there was no worry. All there was right now, at this moment, was them — just the two of them and nothing else. There was a small selfish part of Bato that didn’t want it to end. He wanted this forever.

But in time, it did end when he asked:

“Hey, Koda?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Are you going to send the messenger hawk back?” Bato asked, looking at the bird sitting in the window seal the whole time, staring at the two of them.

“No,” Hakoda said, in all seriousness. “I’m keeping it out of spite.”

Bato sighed, wanting to be annoyed but could not bring himself to that. Instead, he just thought for the millionth time in his life that he loved this man. He loved him so much.

XXX

As a firebender, Zuko rose with the sun. However, there were times where he wished that wasn’t the case. He wanted more than anything to be able to sleep in for however long he wanted. He had tried. But Agni’s rays just did something to his soul that made him wake early.

It fucking sucked.

Zuko’s room had no windows, so he couldn’t really determine if it was morning, but there was still something in his bones told him that that was the case.

So not being able to go back to sleep, and being too afraid to leave his room, the prince began reading the book uncle had given him — one of the surprise gifts he had discovered going through his things.

When Zuko was unpacking his belongings the night before, he found two items that he did not pack himself. The first was a small bottle. The liquid inside was dark purple, and it had a paper tag on it. Upon reading it, the teen noticed that it was his mother’s handwriting. The label read: _for if you wish to run to sleep, only then use me._

It was a line from a play, Zuko knew that, but he couldn’t remember which one. Pulling the top off, he had expected it to be sleeping drops, but the smell (which was quite strong) said otherwise. It had blacksugar berries in it, so it was some sort of cure for sleep. However, sleeping drops had never worked on Zuko, so why his mother had gifted the bottle was beyond him. The bottle now sat on his bedside table unused.

The other item was a package. It was wrapped in red cloth, and the minute the prince opened it, he knew that it was from his uncle. There had been a jar of tea leaves, a pouch of Pai Sho titles that had choked Zuko up when he found them, and finally, the only book on dragons that he couldn’t find in the Royal Library: _The Dragon Rider’s Guide._

Said book had yet to tell the prince how to deal with cheeky baby dragons who thought they were immortal and that nothing could harm them, thus allowing them to get into all sorts of trouble that their master then had to get them out of.

The dragon in question was laid on Zuko’s lap, fast asleep, absorbing the warmth from the teen’s body. This, however, meant that Zuko couldn’t move, because if he did, that would disturb the little dragon. And you could hold a sword to Zuko’s throat, and he’d still never be the one to wake a sleeping Druk.

But eventually, the dragon did wake up when there was a knock on the door. Scooping Druk up in his arms, Zuko went to answer the door and found Katara there.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he replied. Druk perked up at the sight of the Water Tribe girl letting out a happy squawk, sudden enough to make the two teens stare at him.

Looking back at Katara, the prince asked, “Do you need something from me?”

“Oh,” she said. “I was just coming to tell you that after I’m done with my chores, we can head to class. Dad said you were going to take lessons with Yugoda.”

“Um, yeah,” Zuko said, assuming that Yugoda was the healer that Chief Hakoda had told him about the day before. “Would you like me to come with you?”

“Huh?”

“To do your chores,” he explained. “I could help you if you wanted, and we could get going sooner. Or not, I was just wondering.”

“I guess you can help if you want,” Katara said, “Get dressed and come eat breakfast, then we can get started.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Zuko said. And that was that.

XXX

Katara had warned him that the polar dogs were big; however, she never said anything about them jumping up on him. Because they did, and they knocked Zuko into the snow. It was clear the animals weren’t trying to hurt him. They were only after the food he had for them. But at the same time, they were giant, and, based on the force with which they knocked him down, very strong.

“Hey,” Katara called at them and performed some sort of hand gesture that told the dogs to get down. Once they were off of Zuko’s chest, she helped him back onto his feet.

“You good?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, looking back at the dogs, now too busy eating to want to bother him anymore. “They were excited.”

“Yeah, they’re just like Sokka; they love their mealtime,” Katara said, looking at the dogs as well.

Zuko wasn’t really used to doing chores, but the things Katara had him help her with weren’t awful. The two had to check traps, then reset them, bring supplies to the village elders, and finally, feed the sled dogs.

As Zuko and Katara watched the dogs eat, Druk had jumped out of Zuko’s shirt and onto the ground and slowly crawled up to the dogs. Two of them turned away from their food and looked over at the baby dragon, not knowing what he was. Druk sniffed them, and the polar dogs sniffed him back.

Finally, the dragon chuffed and climbed up the smaller of the two dogs until he was on their head. The dog in question didn’t seem to mind and let out a joyful bark, while the other licked the side of Druk’s face, eliciting some little purr-growl sounds.

The teens both laughed, and Zuko asked his dragon, “Do you like them more than the komodo-rhinos?”

Katara got down on her knees and began petting the two dogs, “These two belong to our family. The one Druk’s on is Seal Jerky, and the other one is Otter.”

“You named him after another animal?” he asked, slowly copying her movement to pet the animals himself.

“Her, and yeah, why? What’s Druk named after?” Katara asked.

Zuko shut his mouth, not wanting to admit he named Druk after the Sun Warrior language’s word for dragon.

The polar dogs were a lot nice when they weren’t jumping upon him. Plus, they seemed to like pets and attention. Much like Druk did. Soon enough, though, the dragon got bored of what he was doing and hopped back down the prince's shirt.

Just then, an icy breeze blew through the air sending shivers down Zuko’s spine and making his teeth chatter.

Katara seemed to notice this and asked, “Are you cold?”

“Um, yeah,” he admitted, “I mean these are my thickest clothes, but unsurprisingly Fire Nation tailors don’t know how to make clothes for the South Pole.”

He tried to laugh it off, but it was clear that Katara did not find it funny, as she stood up and grabbed his sleeve, tugging him forward.

“Come on,” she said, “Lessons aren’t for another hour, and we finished early, so that means we have time to go and check if Gran Gran or Yura have something warm for you to put on, to keep you from freezing to death.”

“Who’s Yura?” Zuko asked as he got dragged along.

“Bato’s mother,” Katara answered, and the prince tried to remember who that was. He was pretty sure that was Chief Hakoda’s second-in-command.

When the two arrived back at the home, Zuko saw two older women. The first was Katara’s grandmother, Kanna, if he remembered correctly, and the other one had to be Yura. Her hair was pepper gray, and had old claw marks-shaped scars on her right cheek. She was also a whole head taller than Zuko, even despite being hunched over.

Both women smiled at them as they walked in, but before they could say anything, Katara asked, “Do you have a spare parka? These are the warmest clothes Zuko has.”

This statement had both of the older women looking at Zuko, which did not make him feel great. The prince blinked before bowing respectfully and saying, “Ma’am.”

Yura looked at him up and down before asking, “These are your warmest clothes?”

“Um...yes,” he said

Both women looked at each other with an expression that seemed to be a mix of shock and possibly anger. In the end, Kanna just shook her head and pulled something out of a trunk and handed it to him.

“Here,” she said, “You can wear this for now. It’s Sokka’s old one, so it will be small on you, but it’ll keep you warm until we get one sew up for you.”

“Thank you,” Zuko said, nodding his head.

“How you haven’t got frostbite yet is beyond me,” Yura said, still eyeing the inadequate clothes the prince wore.

“Inner fire helps a lot,” Zuko muttered before slipping the parka over his head. The sleeves of the thing were a bit short on him, but he could tell that it was already a million times warmer than anything else he had. He could feel Druk purring at the increase of warmth that the parka gave.

“Thank you,” he said again, his finger curling around the fur of the collar. The two women only nodded before Kanna turned to Katara.

“You should be getting to your lessons,” she said. “I don’t want you being late.”

Katara nodded and tugged at Zuko’s jacket, signaling for him to follow.

XXX

Prince Zuko was a problem. Okay, well, maybe that wasn’t the way to put it. He was making Katara feel conflicted. That was more accurate. She had mixed feelings about him.

He was a Fire Nation prince on the one hand. His family started the war and raided her people for decades. It was The Fire Nation’s fault that she was one of the last waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe. It was the Fire Nation who had taken her mother from her. It was because of them that she and her family had lost so much.

But then, on the other hand, Zuko himself had done nothing. He was a kid only two years older than her, sent away from his family to marry an unfamiliar older man. And without proper attire, mind you. He had been nothing but polite and respectful to everyone and had even gone out of his way to try and be helpful. Sure, he had been awkward all the while, but Katara was begging to realise that that was just how he was.

It would be easier to hate him if he was rude or callous, like every other Fire Nation noble she’d seen. It would also be easier to hate him if he was anything like the almost-cartoonishly evil person she and Sokka had imagined their new step-parent could be. 

But Zuko wasn’t some evil, arrogant Fire Nation noble. He was just some awkward kid, with a baby dragon who was now living in her house.

“You seem distracted.”

Katara snapped her head up and realized she had been spacing out this whole time, not listening to a word of her lesson.

“I’m sorry, Master Hama,” she said sheepishly.

The older woman simply smiled and asked, “Is something on your mind?”

Katara bit her lip and wondered if she should tell her teacher what she was feeling. Hama was like another grandmother to her, but maybe the Fire Nation prince wasn’t the best subject to bring up.

“It’s nothing really,” she lied. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

Hama raised an eyebrow at her but in the end, let go. “Alright,” she said, “But try to focus, still. I want you to try the forms I showed you last time.”

Katara nodded and started to run through the forms. Katara hadn’t had much time to practice the new moves with all that had been going on, but that just meant that she focused even harder on her motions to make sure they were just right. When she had finished, she looked back to her teacher.

Hama smiled at her. “Very good.”

Katara felt a smile of her own break out across her face.

“I think after a few more lessons, you’ll be able to start learning Northern style combat,” Hama said.

“Really?!” Katara cried, not even pretending to hide her excitement.

“Well, I’ve taught you nearly everything in Southern-style,” Hama went on. “I believe that if you continue at the pace you’re at right now, I’d even be confident in calling you a Master of Southern Waterbending by the Winter Solstice. Finishing your healing training, and moving on to Northern-style are the natural steps forward.”

Katara could hardly believe it. The Solstice wasn’t all that far away, and if she worked hard enough, Hama thought she could become a master by then. This was it! This was what she had hoped for ever since she’d first properly begun training.

“I-” the girl began, “I don’t know what to say.”

“You should be proud,” Hama said. “You’ve worked hard to get here, Katara.”

“Well, I can’t stop now!” Katara grinned. “Let me go over last week's set again.”

That's what the rest of the class looked like; Katara went through every form that she’d learned in the past couple of lessons until they were all perfect. Hama only stopped her once or twice to adjust her stance. It went on until Katara’s arms had long since begun to ache, and sweat made loose strands of hair stick to her forehead.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go over the last of the advanced forms,” Hama said, “and then we’ll work on them until you have them all mastered.”

“Sounds good,” Katara replied.

Just then, she felt something crawling up her leg. She gasped in surprise and looked down to find Druk looking up at her. The dragon cocked his head to the side and cooed at her. Relieved that it wasn’t some random animal that had managed to make its way inside, Katara laughed and scooped Druk up into her arms.

“Did you sneak away?” she asked, scratching him under his chin. The dragon made a noise that sounded like a mix between a purr and a growl.

“What in Tui’s good light is he?” Hama asked, clearly startled by Druk and his sudden appearance. The creature looked over at Hama and chirped.

“He’s a dragon. His name is Druk,” Katara said, as her teacher reached out to stroke the animal's head.

Once again, the dragon made happy noises at the receiving attention. His eyes closed lazily, and he leaned into the petting.

“Where did he come from?” Hama asked, pulling back her arm, studying him as Druk cocked his head to the side once more.

Very hesitant, Katara answered, “He’s Prince Zuko’s. Prince Zuko is getting lessons from Yugoda.”

At that, the slight smile that had been on Hama’s face fell, and there was a certain darkness in her eyes.

“I see,” she said, folding her hands behind her back. There was a minute before Hama asked, “how is he?”

“Awkward,” was the first word that came to Katara’s mind. “Not at all what I thought he’d be. He’s been nothing but respectful, polite, and awkward.”

Hama made a ‘hmph’ sound before saying, “You let me know if that changes.”

Katara opened her mouth and then closed it. She just nodded her head, and the older woman patted her on the shoulder.

“Good. You can go home for the day, my dear,” and with that, Hama was gone. 

Let out a sigh, Katara looked down at Druk. “Let’s go get Zuko. I’m sure he’s almost done too.”

There were only two waterbending masters in all of the South Pole who taught combat. Hama was one and Katara was her only student. The second was master Pakku. Who's class she walked past now. It had only boys from the Northern Tribe in it, and that was still a sight that made Katara grow annoyed and angry even after five years.

~X~

“Come on. Come on. Come on!” she cried, pulling on her dad’s arm.

“Katara, slow down. Bato and I aren’t going to be able to keep up with you,” he replied, laughing while he did so.

“You’ve waited your whole life to learn waterbending, Katara,” Bato said. “You can wait another two minutes.”

“Faster!” was all the response she gave that.

As the small group reached the waterbending school, Katara could feel her heart pounding in her chest with excitement. After waiting so long, she was finally going to properly learn how to bend!

Dad properly retook her hand and led the three of them into where an older man was going over a water bending form. Katara’s eyes went wide with amazement. She’d never seen anyone bend so effortlessly before.

In her excitement, Katara grabbed on to Bato’s parka and shook him while remaining quiet. He smiled at her, shaking his head as he pulled her close.

Finally, the older man seemed to notice that they were there and turned around to face them.

“I take it that you’re Master Pakku,” Dad said.

“I am,” he replied, in a voice and expression that was apathetic. “Chief Arnook informed me that one of your children is a bender.”

“Yes, this is my daughter, Katara.”

At the sound of her name, the girl stepped forward and smiled up at the waterbending master. He did not smile back, however, when he looked down at her.

“I wasn’t informed that it was your _daughter_ who could bend.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with Katara, and she glanced back at her father and Bato, who both looked equally taken aback.

“Is there a problem?” Bato asked, slowly pulling Katara back towards both him and Dad.

“In our tribe, it is forbidden for girls to learn waterbending,” Master Pakku said.

It was like Katara’s whole being was shattered like ice and glass as she stood there frozen in disbelief.

“What do you mean women are forbidden from learning waterbending?” Katara heard her father ask. “You have women here who can bend, but they're just not allowed to?”

“Women here use waterbending for housework and healing as they should,” Master Pakku said. “If you want your daughter to learn to heal, I suggest she be taken to the school for young girls around her age.”

A feeling of anger and distress whelmed up inside of Katara. She wasn’t allowed to learn waterbending because she was a girl? That wasn’t fair!

“But I don’t want to learn how to heal!” Katara cried. “I wanna fight!”

“It is not your place, and you won’t find anyone here who thinks otherwise,” Master Pakku said, just as quickly, with venom in his voice.

“I beg to differ,” a new voice called.

Turning her head, Katara saw a woman who had to be around Gran Gran’s age. Her hair wasn’t in complicated braids like most of the women in the Northern Tribe that she had seen in the two days they’d been here.

She smiled at Katara, and her presence seemed to annoy Master Pakku a good deal.

“You have no business here,” he said to her, now completely ignoring the three Southerners.

“Oh, but I think I do,” the woman said, glaring back at him. “When it comes to young girls wanting to learn waterbending, especially one from the Southern Water Tribe, it is entirely my business.”

The two elders were now standing toe to toe, both stone-faced. The tension and hatred between the two of them could be cut with a machete. It was almost like it was a contest to see who would break first.

The woman then spoke again, saying, “if you don’t plan to teach the girl, I most certainly can.”

“No, I will be damned if you’re allowed to teach any other girl-”

“What? The ability to use their Tui- and La-given gifts?”

Pakku scoffed. “You're an insane woman. I honestly don’t know who you think you are. You and that damn thing you call blo-”

Before he could finish speaking, the woman flicked her wrist, and a wave of snow came and knocked over Master Pakku back a few feet to the ground. She then turned and faced Katara and her family. Once more, the older woman smiled at her and asked:

“Do you want to learn how to waterbend, dear?”

Katara nodded. “More than anything.”

“Well then,” the woman said, “why don’t you and your parents come with me? We can discuss the matter more.”

Katara looked back at the two adults behind her, who then looked at each other before nodding.

They were led a short way away to another waterbending school, where another older woman introduced herself to Yugoda, one of the two Masters of the school.

At this, the woman who had knocked Master Pakku into the snow laughed and said, “I guess I did forget to introduce myself, as well.”

She turned to look at them, “I’m Hama, of the Southern Water Tribe.”

“You’re from our tribe?” Katara asked without thinking.

Hama looked at her with a sad expression and nodded. “Yes, dear, I am. Many years ago, the Fire Nation captured and took me, along with all the other waterbenders of our tribe, away. But I escaped, with another bender from the Northern Tribe, and I have been here ever since.”

Looking back at her father and Bato, Katara saw that they both seemed to have the same look of horror and sadness on their faces.

Hama shook herself before looking down at Katara’s and asked, “how old are you, dear?”

“Nine,” she answered.

“And I assume there’s no one else back home who can waterbend to teach you?”

Katara shook her head.

“Well, we'll have to fix that, won’t we?”

A small smile once again came across Katara’s face as she nodded her head enthusiastically.

Hama then turned to Katara’s father and said, “if you would allow me when you and the rest of your crew return to the South Pole, I’d like to accompany you. Not just so I may teach your daughter waterbending, but so I can finally return to my home.”

“Of course,” Hakoda said.

Yugoda, who had been quiet for the most part since they arrived, asked, “You think you’ll be able to leave easily?”

“I’m widowed with no sons or male family members,” Hama said. “No one can tell me what to do or where I can go, bar the high council.”

“I know that,” Yugoda said, folding her hands together. “I also know Pakku will argue to the council that you shouldn’t be allowed to leave.”

“Well, he's an idiot; who cares what he says?” Katara muttered, crossing her arms.

Before either her dad or Bato could yell at her for saying something disrespectful about an elder, Hama threw her head back, laughing before patting Katara on the shoulder.

“I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly.”

~X~

When Katara finally got out of her head, she realized that she had reached Yugoda’s classroom. Peeking her head in, she saw Yugoda and the Zuko standing over a table covered in herbs and medical tools. She gently knocked on the side of the door to announce her presents.

The two turned to look at her, and at the sight of Druk in her arms, Zuko paled.

“When did he leave me?!” he asked in total horror.

“Not sure,” Katara answered, walking into the room and handing him his dragon. “He came and found me just as I was finishing up my lessons.”

“He was asleep in my hood, last I checked,” Zuko muttered, pulling Druk close to his chest.

“If he had gotten into any real trouble, I’m sure we would have found out about it by now,” Yugoda said, trying to reassure him.

Zuko sighed as Druk nuzzled his face against the prince’s cheek. “You drive me crazy sometimes, you know that?”

Druk just chuffed in response and climbed down the front of Zuko’s parka. The teen just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Yugoda chuckled and said, “That’ll be it for the lesson today. I’d like you to read the first few chapters of this before we meet again.”

She handed Zuko a book of traditional medicine so well-worn that you had to squint to even read the title.

“I will. Thank you for today’s lesson,” he said before giving her a respectful bow.

With that, the two teens left the school and began making their way home.

“So,” Katara said after they had been quiet for about ten minutes, “how was your first day of lessons?”

“Oh, um, it was good,” he said. “I think there’s a lot I can learn, so…”

A pause.

“So, how was your day?” he asked, still looking straight ahead, as if he was nervous about making eye contact with her.

“Um, good,” she replied. “Actually really well. My teacher believes if I continue to work hard enough, I could be considered a Master of Southern-style bending by the Winter Solstice.”

“Really?” Zuko asked, “That, that incredible, Katara.”

She could help but smiled when she said, “I know! It was five years of hard work, but worth it.”

“Wait, only five?”

“Um, yeah?” she said. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing,” Zuko answered quickly. “Firebending takes a bit longer to master. Or, at least it does when you’re part of the royal family. My sister Azula’s a prodigy, and already one of the greatest benders in our line, and even she’s not considered a Master yet.”

“How long until she is?” Katara asked carefully, noticing the small amount of jealousy in Zuko’s voice.

“Grandfather says she has to pass the three Trials of Agni, which are ancient firebending trials every great firebender in our bloodline has undergone. He also said he wants her to master lightning-bending before she’s granted the title of a firebending Master. For most people, it would be a three-year thing at least but, knowing her, she'll be a Master this time next year.”

“I see,” Katara said. “You’re a bender, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko said, a little bitter. “But not as good as my sister. Even if I trained as much as her, I probably wouldn't even be allowed to take my trials for another decade.”

They were quiet again. Looking at the Fire Nation prince again, Katara saw that he looked angry. He didn’t seem angry at somebody else, though; this was the type of anger that was directed towards oneself. He had the same look on his face that Sokka got when a plan didn’t work; when some stupid thing that hadn’t occurred to him got in his way.

“Well,” Katara said, not really sure where she was going with it, “I’m sure there’s something you’re better than her at.”

The tiniest hint of a smile crept up on Zuko’s face, just as Druk popped his head out of the boy’s collar.

“Yeah,” he said, scratching the dragon’s head. “I think there is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko that this point of time in the story is actually very good at firebending, it's just Ozai's standers are fucked up. But you knew that.
> 
> Yes, I added Hama. Here's the thing, I think what they did to her in the show is fucked up. Do I think kidnapping people is good? No. But at the same time, Hama's a victim of genocide and war. There are many good essays on Tumblr talking about the whole thing with Hama; read them. They're great. Plus, why make Hama evil when I can make her a super cool lesbian teacher who hates Pakku and who may have had a secret waterbending school for girls in the NWT that we may find out about more later on?
> 
> I will get more background about her and all the older women of the SWT as time goes on, don't worry.
> 
> Also, there will be a fair chunk of dads in love in this story, and if you don't like that or didn't ask for it, too bad it's here, and it's only going keep coming.
> 
> That and the fuck ton of angst I have planned. 
> 
> Remember if you like this story to leave a comment. My Tumblr is love-hello-i-m-reagan if you ever want to check me out there. With that, I hope you all have a wonderful day. Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Start of the chapter: We're all upset, and we're making it clear, but going to do it anyway, and at least it can't get worse.
> 
> End of the chapter: THEY SENT US A BABY!!!
> 
> So, yeah, that was what I came up with as a start. I promise it's going to get better. This wasn't the best chapter because there wasn't a lot going on this side of things, but I promise the rest will be great. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed as well as your thoughts. If you ever what to check out my Tumblr, it's love-hello-i-m-reagan. With that until next time!
> 
> Link to tumblr post:  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/captainkirkk/628849887874842624


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